The Conical Glass: Word for word

Monday, August 27, 2007

Word for word

Even if you're an agoraphobic, you probably know that the Bay Bridge is going to be closed over Labor Day Weekend. Caltrans has been spreading the word by means of enormous digital signs all over the area, and the long-planned closure has also been the subject of several front-page newspaper stories.

So, no auto trips into the city next weekend. I usually prefer transit anyway, and wasn't sure it would be worth the trouble to fight the Sunday bridge traffic to get to an industrial area not easily reached by public transport to see Word for Word Performing Arts Company's new production, "Angel Face." However, my friend Janet R. said it was fabulous and a must-see, so we decided to check it out. Luckily, Janet was right and it was worth the inconvenience.

WfW is kind of an unusual theater company. Instead of producing plays, they produce theatrical adaptations of short stories. And as their name suggests, they don't change a single word. They perform them verbatim, with all the "he said"s and "she said"s intact. It can be distracting, but "Angel Face," a first-person, dialogue-heavy tale, is particularly well-suited for the WfW treatment. The story was written by noir pioneer Cornell Woolrich back in 1937, and is about a gorgeous dame fighting to save her brother, who has been framed for a murder, from being "short-circuited" -- that is, put to death in the electric chair. Woolrich knew how to pen a hard-boiled turn of phrase; a helpful noir glossary in the program explains expressions like "The cat's out of the bag and the bulldog will probably chase it" ("The deception has been discovered, with consequences") and "You're headed straight for the eight ball" ("You're headed in the wrong direction"). New York transplant Laura Lowry does an extraordinary job in the demanding title role, and six additional actors manage to make a whole ensemble of down 'n dirty characters come alive.

We also finally managed to see "Sicko," which unfortunately seems to have closed everywhere except the Bay Area, but it'll be out on DVD in November, no doubt with hours of bonus features. Even the hardiest free marketeer would no doubt be moved by the surveillance camera footage of an indigent woman, still dressed in her flimsy hospital gown, being dropped off by a taxi onto Los Angeles' Skid Row. The practice of "patient dumping" by hospitals is a target of investigation by the L.A. city attorney's office. Very sad indeed that such a thing could happen.

posted by 125records @ 2:50 PM

1 Comments:

At 4:21 PM, Joe said…

Laura Lowry's dad appears to be an Irish musician:
http://www.frankemerson.com/home.html